British police seek mugger with 'Friar Tuck' hairstyle

ALLESLEY, England, March 19 (UPI) -- Police in Britain said they are searching for a serial mugger whose victims compared his hairstyle to that of Robin Hood sidekick Friar Tuck.

Investigators said the man, whose ringed hairstyle with a bald patch has been compared to that of a monk or Robin Hood character Friar Tuck, snatched an 89-year-old woman's purse while she was talking in an Allesley, England, cemetery Feb. 7 and he has since struck six more times, each time targeting an elderly woman in the Coventry area, the Coventry Telegraph reported Wednesday.

"These are despicable, cowardly crimes with elderly ladies being specifically targeted before being ambushed from behind," Detective Constable Kerrie Galloway said. "We are investigating these as a series of offenses, potentially linked, due to the similarities in the tactic used and offense location. Thankfully, none of the ladies suffered significant injuries but, given their age, any of these attacks could have had tragic consequences."

"We have been given a distinctive description of a man responsible for one of the attacks: a white man in his mid- to late-20s, of grubby, unkempt appearance and with dark receding hair with a Friar Tuck like bald patch on top," Galloway said.